Arsenal coach Jack Wilshere knows a thing or two about bursting onto the Gunners scene from a young age and has hailed the next talent ready to emerge from the club's famed academy.
Wilshere has dubbed 15-year-old Ethan Nwaneri as "unplayable" just months after he made Premier League history when he became the youngest player in top flight history. The teenager was brought on during the last knockings of the 3-0 away win at Brentford in September.
Nwaneri has not been seen in the Gunners first-team since then, but that was to be expected while the teenager's development continues under Wilshere's watch. Some may have feared the attention that comes with being the youngest talent to ever star in the Premier League would have curtailed Nwaneri's form, but that has not been the case.
Instead, he appears to have taken his game to the next level and bagged himself a nine-minute brace in the recent Under-18's Premier League Cup clash against Manchester United which ended 3-3. This seaosn has seen Nwaneri go from strength to strength and represent both Arsenal and England at various different levels.
Wilshere is now in the hot-seat as Arsenal Under-18's manager after announcing his retirement from football as a player earlier this year. After the recent comeback draw against United, he heaped praise on Nwaneri.
"In the first half, he tried to find the spaces, playing in people’s backs and creating space for himself, and we couldn’t find him a little bit," the former Gunners midfielder claimed while dissecting Nwaneri's performance.
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"In the second half, he was very good. He was unplayable at times. He had a few good moments. In the second half a lot of players stepped up a level, we found some more space.
"We spoke to them a little bit at halftime about few tactical things which allowed Ethan to free up. We had a really good balance in the team and Ethan was good in the second half."
Wilshere's own Arsenal trajectory failed to go the way many had hoped, with a man once tipped to be a Gunners captain now retired and coaching at 30 years of age.
Despite spending a decade in and around the Arsenal first-team, injuries seriously hampered Wilshere's career and he only made 187 appearances for the Gunners in 10 years.
With that in mind, Wilshere will be well qualified to guide Nwaneri through the difficult stages of trying to cement his status as a regular in Arsenal's midfield in the years to come.
First-team boss Mikel Arteta is clearly an admirer of the 15-year-old's talent and it should not come as a surprise if Nwaneri plays more of a role at senior level next season.
